Out of Africa (picture intensive)

Kinlayan, just awesome overall build! Glad this thread got updated or I would have missed out on this beautiful aquarium. Keep up the good work and know that most of us are living our aquarium dreams thru you - a half a world away!
 
I have had numerous untimely events such as yours, they ALWAYS occur when I'm away, in your case the fish keeper took the brunt of it! money, time, holiday... wow it was good you drove back, worse case it could have burned your house down! :lol:
 
Jhentr - many thanks for this , the compliments are always much appreciated!

Elliot- yes even with all the backups in place things can still go bad- we can only try ,hope and pray it doesnt hit that worst scenario ;)
 
So i have some pics not great ones , it looks better in real life but my better half was too busy to take her awesome pictures for me and i do not have great photography skills so.. it will have to suffice for now.

Added Fire corals (millepora ) to the middle section to the already existing Heliopora Island. It is challenging to find corals that wont be eaten by my Angels, Cowfish or Clown trigger or even my not so reef safe "Regal Tangs"

The Fire coral is not been touched at all and the fish don't seem to be stung by it either there was some pecking around it at sponges that came in with it but no damage to the coral itself , this and John Copp's Angel dominated tank then emboldened me to try some Montipora species - capricornis and digitata have also been added and with minimal damage to them it seems, hoping this remains so ,though it may turn if a fish decides to be destructive in this section they didnt eat the masses of xenia i had transplanted from the sides to the middle for 3 months and then decided it was yummy and wiped it out . Overall it has really improved the middle sections appearance it is getting more reef like everyday.
 
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42085951@N06/5489873028/" title="Fire corals by Kinlayan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5092/5489873028_6a7135dac3.jpg" width="500" height="326" alt="Fire corals" /></a>


<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42085951@N06/5489290007/" title="Coral island by Kinlayan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5092/5489290007_bff6b96513.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="Coral island" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42085951@N06/5489879130/" title="new corals in middle by Kinlayan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5098/5489879130_6b91bb0caa.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="new corals in middle" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42085951@N06/5489897294/" title="DSC_2271 by Kinlayan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5255/5489897294_3600c86337.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="DSC_2271" /></a>
 
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42085951@N06/5489862470/" title="Left softie section by Kinlayan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5253/5489862470_9b9103a94e.jpg" width="332" height="500" alt="Left softie section" /></a>
left Softie section but a galaxia is starting to dominate in here, the golden pygmy angel lives in this section but it is like seeing a leopard in a nature reserve seeing him, i get the odd glimpse of it pecking on the rocks and it seems very happy very cute fish but hard to photograph

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42085951@N06/5489275763/" title="Coral id by Kinlayan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5098/5489275763_d8a91ed2da.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="Coral id" /></a>

not sure what this coral is came in on live rock and was brown there is small piece of heliopora up top but the green boulder formations were brown and have gone darker green under my lighting it is bad picture ill try get macro pic for better ID?

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42085951@N06/5489867860/" title="DSC_2225 by Kinlayan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5292/5489867860_1c8ab6d7e4.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="DSC_2225" /></a>
Bandit angel has settled in well eats like a pig! and was annoying the cowfish a bit picking on his skin but this has subsided
 
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42085951@N06/5489295669/" title="DSC_2269 by Kinlayan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5171/5489295669_36307d8b78.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="DSC_2269" /></a>

My Girlfriend's Sister has named this fish "Muji" and the name has stuck! Certainly one of the biggest characters in the tank even though it is one of the smallest fish ;)
 
Those yellow belly regal tangs are notorious for nipping for some reason, really odd IMO that the yellow belly ones would nip and the blue ones don't along with most other tangs, especially because blue tangs are thought to be more of a planktonic feeding fish than grazer.

I think the fire coral is a great addition, I doubt it will get nipped much and you see it quite often on Caribbean reefs so IMO it will make it look much more natural.

As always, awesome updates and glad nothing happened in that accident. When are you going to get TOTM?!?
 
*WOW*

Wicked stuff dude!

i like your angel collection as well. I'm really keen on wanting to keep an emperor angel, just very nervous about giving it a go.

Good thing my yellow belly regal is totally harmless in my reef system
 
Very nice thread. Great build as well. Gorgeous Tank and inhabitants very nice I hope one day to go bigger but this is just incredible.
 
stunning as usual...one thing,you have that french angel for over a decade...have you documented it's journey..? love to see it's picture as juvenile...
once again,awesome work!....
 
Dragonfish-todah rabah!

wowkingjames- thank you for the wonderful compliment while the aquarium is my creation i cant take credit for the wonder of creation!

Tcmfish- True what you say yellow belly regals seem much more likely to tear into certain corals than the all blue regal tang
Yes i am happy with Fire Coral it is rarely imported but has added a nice dimension to a section that has many Fowlr fish- i will continue to try find similar corals that would survive in this section. Totm - thanks so kind of you to think it is worthy but i feel it has still some way to go!

Amfynn- thanks man! your tank and sps skills are incredible, i bet you can keep an emperor just get a juvie and keep the corals healthy

Youngone- thank you! much appreciated!

Auem -i wish i could say i have but no and it was a tiny juvenile half the size of my thumb when i got it, the only early footage that i have of it was about 5 years ago in my old tank in a video at the beginning of this thread- it still has a mild juvie stripe in that vid! - Thanks for the praise i appreciate it!
 
hello! im hoping you can help me with something im curious about.

im interested in many fish that arent "reef safe" im wondering which corals that your fish will actually eat and which ones they leave alone since i notice that u seem to be placing some corals in the middle section now. particularly i want to keep a clown trigger in a reef like setting along with lots of tangs and some other angels like the bandit angel and the emperor angel. i havnt seen any info on what corals they actually nip on and which they dont. a little nipping is ok.

thanks in advance!
 
Mr Winters - so far i can tell you Heliopora/blue coral is safe with almost all fish, fire coral-millepora gets the odd nip but nothing major also fine with all my fish in the middle- i added montipora capricornis and that has not been harmed for 2 months now by any fish but montipora digitata was bitten by the clown trigger and moved to my coral section to prevent its demise as he was acquiring a taste for it.Montipora Danae seems to be unharmed as well

Xenia was fine for months but then they acquired a taste and decimated it - funny it was the regal tangs that ate the majority of it not the angels as much(blue face did eat it).

I have blue star polyp that is safe and is not eaten it has proliferated all over the aquarium and is very attractive - , not sure what species it is exactly it maybe a primitive xeniid i hear.

I also added a Large heteractis crispa 2 years ago which was never harmed but it has sebae clowns protecting it.

also what have what i think is Pachyseris and perhaps Leptoseris also unharmed

I also added Fungia species which have not been harmed or nipped yet still early days around 1 month.

Gorgonians i attempted a few species but they all came under attack by the queen angel.

I am trying many corals and will let you know as time goes by on more.Many fish in the middle section are not reef friendly notably the Cowfish, Clown trigger and my large angels species so it is very much an ongoing experiment to find what they will and wont eat.
 
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This is one of my favourite threads on RC, I love your fish stock.
Unfortunately on a recent trip to Barcelona Aquarium my wife fell in love with a queen angel and wants one in our bigger tank that will be sps dominated!!...I also like the french and blueface. Have you had any issues with the larger angels? Could you let me know what sort of diet you are feeding them.

Awesome tank, thanks for sharing it with us.
 
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